Science of the Times: Exoskeleton tech is on the fast track

In this Aug. 22, 2014, photo, Perot, a preserved mammoth skeleton is excavated out of a gravel at Wayne McEwen's farm in Ellis County, Texas. A nearly complete mammoth skeleton, intact and unmolested by scavengers, was found at McEwen's farm lying on a bed of sand where the creature died 20,000 to 40,000 years ago (AP Photo/The Dallas Morning News, Michael Ainsworth) MANDATORY CREDIT; MAGS OUT; TV OUT; INTERNET USE BY AP MEMBERS ONLY; NO SALES

No chair? No problem. That’s the idea behind a new exoskeleton being developed by Swiss start-up noonee, which is hoping to give workers who have to stand for long periods some respite from their endlessly vertical existence.

The Chairless Chair probably doesn’t mean much for anyone not in the service industry or whose days aren’t spent staring at a conveyor belt — I would hazard a guess that between sitting during our commutes, while at work, eating meals, taking in entertainment, and participating in sports and other hobbies, most of us don’t actually stand more than 20 minutes in any given day — but for the rest, the aluminum and carbon-fiber frame could be a revelation (granted you could afford one).

The device, which straps to the legs and midsection, not only allows users to take some stress off their lower limbs with the press of a button, but reportedly helps improve bad posture so that even the standing part isn’t so bad. Now if only they could do something about the mind-numbing tedium of factory line work.

Advertisement

Exoskeletons are all the rage these days. The much beloved staple of science fiction appears to finally be coming into its own thanks to lighter materials and improved power sources. The Chairless Chair, for instance, is powered by a single battery capable of holding a charge for up to 24 hours.

While that particular model is designed with the idea of sitting down, others have been working diligently to bring those who cannot stand to their feet.

ReWalk Robotics, for instance, was recently given a greenlight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its ReWalk Personal System of powered knee and hip joints, which affords those who would normally be confined to wheelchairs with the ability to stand upright and walk around with the help of crutches.

Four undergrads at the University of Pennsylvania meanwhile designed their own system to boost upper-arm strength with the Titan Arm, which adds an extra 40 pounds of lift power to the wearer thanks to a backpack battery and bracing plate.

The Penn students are hopeful that their award-winning design (most of which can be quickly and cheaply replicated with a 3D printer) can be used in rehabilitation. Though it is currently controlled by joystick, they are reportedly looking at eliminating that component through electromyography — basically sending electrical impulses directly into arm muscles to trigger movement.

Cyberdyne, a Japanese company that is apparently in love with sci-fi, is already exploring how to “teach” its exoskeleton HAL to recognize brain signals for movement through faint bio-electric signals on the surface of the skin. Or, at least, that’s what I was able to glean from the company’s website, but it wasn’t the easiest thing to read.

I think the idea is that as HAL gets smarter about what signal corresponds with which movement, it can more intuitively process the wearer’s intended actions and react almost instantaneously. But don’t quote me on that.

And of course the military is also getting in on the action. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences recently announced it would take on two Fortis exoskeletons from Lockheed Martin that it hopes will give sailors a boost when handling heavy equipment.

Fortis is the rare exception to the burgeoning exoskeleton market in that it is unpowered and serves more as a bracing frame than anything. The Fortis is fully adjustable for height and weight, however, and reportedly does not impede the wearer’s movement, which could make it well-suited to the tightly confined workspaces aboard Navy ships.

Lockheed is also working on a pair of hydraulic-powered titanium legs called the HULC, which it claims can give users the ability to carry up to 200 pounds for long periods over various types of terrain.

The HULC is already under testing for the U.S. Army and is also reportedly designed with flexibility in mind, combining a modular structure that allows for swapping out job-specific components with a fairly impressive range of movement.

And these things will only get better with improved battery technology and nanomaterial development, meaning the very likely reality of soldiers wearing these things into combat a la Tom Cruise in the “Edge of Tomorrow” is extremely nigh.

If you listen close, you can almost hear Gen. Buck Turgidson salivating on the War Room floor.

Alex Rose covers the Delaware County Courthouse for the Daily Times. Follow him on Twitter at @arosedelco. Check out his blog at delcoscience.blogspot.com. Email him at delcoscience@gmail.com. His column appears every Tuesday.